

Although the album was a hit upon its summer release, entering the charts at number one and selling three-million copies within two months, certain members of the Metallica fan base complained about the shift in image, as well as the group's decision to headline the sixth Lollapalooza. The album moved the band toward alternative rock in terms of image - the bandmembers cut their hair and had their picture taken by Anton Corbijn. However, the group lost a portion of its core audience with its long-awaited follow-up to Metallica, 1996's Load. No other heavy metal band has ever been able to pull off such a feat. To support the record, Metallica launched a long tour that kept the musicians on the road for nearly two years.īy the '90s, Metallica had changed the rules for all heavy metal bands they were the leaders of the genre, respected not only by headbangers, but by mainstream record buyers and critics.

Peppered with hits like 'Wherever I May Roam' and 'Enter Sandman,' it resulted in a number one album that sold over seven million copies in the U.S. But Metallica completely crossed over into the mainstream with 1991's Metallica, a self-titled effort that found the band trading in its long compositions for more concise song structures. And Justice for All, which hit the Top Ten without any radio play and very little support from MTV.

When the band decided to continue, Jason Newsted was chosen to replace Burton two years later, the band released the conceptually ambitious. To complete the package, Lars Ulrich's thunderous (yet complex) drumming clicked in perfectly with Cliff Burton's innovative bass playing.Īfter releasing their masterpiece Master of Puppets in 1986, tragedy struck the band when their tour bus crashed while traveling in Sweden. With each album, the band's playing and writing improved James Hetfield developed a signature rhythm playing that matched his growl, while lead guitarist Kirk Hammett became one of the most copied guitarists in metal. The release of 1983's Kill 'Em All marked the beginning of the legitimization of heavy metal's underground, bringing new complexity and depth to thrash metal. Metallica also expanded the limits of thrash, using speed and volume not for their own sake, but to enhance their intricately structured compositions. Responsible for bringing the metal genre back to earth, the bandmates looked and talked like they were from the street, shunning the usual rock star games of metal musicians during the mid-'80s pop-metal renaissance. American quartet Metallica were one of the most influential heavy metal bands of the '80s and '90s, inspiring generations of rockers with their early thrash and later hard rock sounds before settling into their roles as a popular legacy act in the 2000s.
